With the 2023 Fiji World Cup recently underway, we caught up with Irish expat Jony Price, who now calls Fiji home to give us the inside scope on what we can expect over the rest of the event period!

(PWA) Hey Jony, what inspired your decision to relocate to Fiji? How has living in Fiji influenced your windsurfing journey?

(Jony) Hi Guys -  Well it's really the opposite, it should be how has windsurfing influenced my Fiji journey! It's the reason I've ended up living here. I used to watch the clips of Jason Polakow at solid Cloudbreak and dream about it a lot. Then I'd watch the live stream of the WSL at Cloudbreak each year and see how perfect the wind looked for windsurfing.

I was working in NZ for a while thinking it would be as close as I'd ever get, so I came to visit a few times and fell in love with the place. Then when I got the chance to move here, I went all in and never looked back.

(PWA) As someone who now calls Fiji home, what sets the surfing and windsurfing scene in Fiji apart from other locations around the world?

(Jony) The local surfing community in Fiji is very small here and everyone is very close. The windsurfing scene is even smaller, I think there's only 2 other windsurfers in the country and I'm the only one at Cloudbreak. There are also a few local legends that kitesurf so I'm usually stoked to have some company at Cloudbreak on the windy days. Out of respect for the surfers I usually don't rig up until after they've all left, and Cloudbreak is 5 miles out to sea so it gets a bit lonely windsurfing out there alone.

One of the unique things about surfing in Fiji is that Fijian surfers actually had to fight hard just to earn the right to surf here in their own home! Cloudbreak used to be private and only guests at certain resorts had access until the introduction of the surfing decree in 2010 which guaranteed free access to all. So it doesn't really feel right closing off their access to the wave for foreigners to hold a windsurf competition. Hopefully the event benefits the local community, and the windsurfers remember to be patient and respect the surfers in the lineup. 

(PWA) Could you share your experience of windsurfing at Cloudbreak? What makes this iconic wave special and challenging for windsurfers?

(Jony) Cloudbreak is such a perfect consistent wave at any size, and you can usually get barrelled surfing out there even when it's blowing 20 knots, so the biggest challenge by far is always the crowd of surfers. If it's small (mast high) you can almost guarantee it will be too busy with surfers no matter how windy it is as there aren’t many other options for surfing nearby when the conditions are like that. Windsurfing is not so fun when theres 30+ surfers scattered down the line when your trying to link up sections and its going to make you really unpopular pretty quick!

Then there's this in-between size where you get a lot of wash-throughs which make it really hard work for both surfing and windsurfing. These are the most frequent windsurf days we get out there but they can be really challenging as the bigger sets don't break properly and wash through the lineup so the smaller waves are better, but then the big ones catch you out! 

Wave selection can be key.. but at Cloudbreak you can do everything right and still trash all your gear. Straightening out on a wave or chicken gybing is almost always game over even on smaller days. There's never any wind on the inside and the reef just gets more shallow and sharper the further down the line you go.

Then there's the good days when Cloudbreak really lights up, when the period jumps up the stars align and it breaks properly out the back instead of capping. These are the days we live for. I spend the rest of the year just making sure I'm ready for those days, and that I haven’t broken all my gear beforehand. 

(PWA) Given your familiarity with Cloudbreak, what kind of conditions do you expect for the upcoming Fiji 5-star event? How do you think these conditions will impact the competition and the performance of the riders?

(Jony) Fiji has been consistently firing recently and the forecast looks really good for the event. There's a few good swells forecasted within the waiting period and looks like there will be a plenty of wind too. It's going to be great to see what the top guys can do in conditions like that. The performance level is going to be insane, and you can bet there will be a lot of broken gear too.

(PWA) As a wildcard entry in the event, how does it feel to have the opportunity to showcase your skills alongside some of the world’s best windsurfers? What are your goals and aspirations for the event?

(Jony) My goal for the event is to do my best to represent the local surfing community in the event, I’m honoured to have the opportunity to do so. I've gotten used to sharing the lineup at Cloudbreak with some of the worlds best surfers, and you really learn a lot from surfing with them. So it will be great to share the lineup with some of the worlds best windsurfers and see how they read the wave.

(PWA) Anything else you want to add or pass on info for the global PWA audience?

(Jony) If you ever decide to come to make the trip to Fiji make sure to take the time to escape the resorts and go see the real Fiji and support the small local businesses, you won't regret it. And if you’re able to leave any gear here when you leave, windsurfing or surfing, it could really change the lives of some of the local kids!